More Stories from the Bush of Madagascar
in the bush villages. It is thrilling to see God at work! J. "I was known as the biggest alcoholic in the village. Last year, I was at
the meeting for the healthcare committee when, during one of his visits, J-M
said that God was wanting to deliver someone from alcohol. He laid his hands
on me and I was completely freed. The villagers have seen a huge change in
my life and I am able to speak to them of Jesus who transforms lives; they
have seen it in me!" J. is participating in the training sessions with his
wife and someone else from the neighbouring village. Four churches have
started up in this one area.
These villages are in an area that can only be reached by boat, the
Pangalanes canal. There are now about 10 churches that we have got going
along this canal. Last Sunday, initiated by themselves, several of them met
together. A. "I gave my life to the Lord last year while participating in the
healthcare committee meetings. V then spoke to me about coming to a training
course in Tamatave to start up a church. As a woman, I was not taken very
seriously in the village, but God has changed everything. I have been
selected to head up the school parents' committee. The school masters were
never paid in our village, so we were short of teachers. I visited all the
families, explaining how important education is for our children, and how we
need to support our teachers... At present, all the families are clubbing
together and we have teachers once again in our village... " E. "In our village, we were all poor and spent all our time complaining
about it. Last year, when J-M visited us, we got a word from God. God told
us that we would discover the wealth of our village and that our standard of
living was going to change. A month later, a business approached us about
harvesting Anajavidi, a plant that grows profusely in our sterile, sandy
soil. Our whole village has changed, many houses now have battery-power and
we are able to have electricity, charge our phones... The village is
developing." (Anjavidi is used for thatch roofs in Normandy!) V. & M. : "We gave ourselves to the Lord a few months ago. Our village was
known as a place used by bandits to the point that the authorities had
decided to destroy it. We began to cry out to the Lord for our village, that
the atmosphere would change; we can witness that Jesus has changed our
lives.... We believe that our village will not be wiped off the map!"
